Split

Split occupies a slender promontory on Croatia’s eastern Adriatic shore, its boundaries defined by the Gulf of Kaštela to the west and the deeper waters of the Split Channel to the east. Two ridges, Kozjak to the north and Mosor to the northeast, rise to heights of 779 and 1,339 metres respectively, framing the city’s approach from inland and shielding it from harsher weather. At the western tip of the peninsula stands Marjan, a forested hill that climbs to 178 metres above sea level. Its wooded slopes, extending over some 347 hectares, are threaded by walking paths and punctuated by view‑points that afford sweeping panoramas of the waterfront, the red‑tiled rooftops of the old quarter, and the distant silhouettes of Dalmatian islands.

The climate here falls under the hot‑summer Mediterranean classification. Summers are hot and largely dry, tempered only by the occasional gust of bura, a sharp northerly wind that can make mornings feel unexpectedly cool. Winters remain mild; average lows in January hover near 6 °C, while July afternoons often reach around 31 °C. Annual rainfall totals near 800 mm, its greatest concentration in November, when nearly 120 mm may fall over a dozen wet days. Snow is typically scarce, yet in February 2012 a rare cold spell brought 25 cm of snowfall, halting traffic across the peninsula. Sunshine prevails for roughly 2,600 hours each year, a feature that has lent Split informal nicknames such as “Mediterranean flower” and, among the most ardent local fans, “the most beautiful city in the world.”

Long before the arrival of modern roads and cruise ships, the site of today’s Split was known to Greek mariners. In the third or second century BCE, settlers established a trading post they called Aspálathos, whose name likely referred to the native spiny shrub that grows across the Dalmatian coast. Under Roman rule, that modest colony evolved into one of the empire’s most ambitious building endeavours: in 305 CE, Emperor Diocletian chose this wind‑swept headland as the location for his retirement palace. The complex, today at the heart of Split’s historic district, comprised massive stone walls, grand colonnades, and private living quarters arranged within a fortified enclosure.

When the provincial capital of Salona fell to Avar and Slavic incursions around 650 CE, refugees fled into the solid shelter of Diocletian’s walls. Those ancient stones became the core of a new settlement that operated under Byzantine suzerainty, yet over time the citizens forged their own civic identity. During the High and Late Middle Ages, Split sustained a delicate neutrality, maneuvering between the maritime might of the Venetian Republic and the ambitions of the Croatian crown. By the end of the fourteenth century, Venetian sway had grown more pronounced: the city’s defenses were reinforced, and its port emerged as a critical outpost against Ottoman expansion.

Venice retained control over Split until 1797, when Napoleon’s forces dissolved the republic and ceded Dalmatia to the Habsburgs under the Treaty of Campo Formio. A decade later, the peninsula passed briefly into the orbit of Napoleon’s Kingdom of Italy and then the French Empire itself as part of the Illyrian Provinces. With the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna restored Austrian rule, and Split became part of the crown’s Kingdom of Dalmatia. Over the next century, railways and steamships linked it more closely to Central Europe, even as local industries—shipbuilding, textiles, tobacco, and food processing—flourished under imperial auspices.

The collapse of Austria‑Hungary in 1918 ushered in a new chapter, as Split joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia). During World War II, the city was first annexed by Italy, then occupied by German forces who placed it within a puppet Croatian state. Partisan fighters liberated the city in 1944, and after the war Split became part of socialist Yugoslavia’s Republic of Croatia. Under the planned economy, the city’s shipyards—chief among them Brodosplit—expanded rapidly, producing everything from tankers and bulk carriers to ferries and naval vessels. In 1981 Split’s GDP per capita exceeded the Yugoslav average by over a third.

The transition from a socialist system in the early 1990s proved turbulent. Factories closed or scaled back, and unemployment rose sharply. Brodosplit, though still Croatia’s largest shipyard and exporter of over 350 vessels, now employs far fewer than during its heyday. To offset industrial decline, local authorities invested heavily in tourism infrastructure and commercial development. The opening of the A1 motorway in July 2005 linked Split directly with Zagreb and the continental freeway network, accelerating the influx of goods, visitors, and investors. The annual Croatia Boat Show, held here since 1998, has become a key event for maritime industries across Southeast Europe.

Today Split’s population stands at approximately 160,577, of whom 96.4 per cent identify as Croat and 77.5 per cent as Roman Catholic. As the metropolitan area stretches beyond the peninsula into neighboring Kaštela and Trogir, its combined population approaches 330,000. Yet the peninsula itself remains compact; its narrow streets and densely arranged buildings create an intimacy that belies the city’s size.

The old quarter unfolds within and around Diocletian’s Palace. From the north‑west gate, pedestrians enter a sequence of shaded alleys and small squares. The principal waterfront avenue, known as the Riva, traces the southern edge of the palace precinct. Lined with palms since the early twentieth century, today it serves exclusively as a pedestrian promenade. In 1807, orders from the French marshal Marmont led to the demolition of parts of the former Venetian ramparts, yielding the wide terrace that now hosts cafes and evening concerts.

To the northeast lies Narodni Trg, or Pjaca, created during a period of westward expansion beyond the palace walls. Over its long history, this plaza has borne names such as Lovrin Trg and Trg oružja, reflecting changing regimes and functions. Its surrounding facades include the 13th‑century Romanesque tower with its bell and clock, the Ciprian and Cambi palaces, and the Morpurgo bookstore, in operation since 1861.

Marjan hill, revered as Split’s “city‑under‑Marjan,” provides a sylvan counterpoint to the dense core. Locals and visitors ascend its paths on foot or by bicycle, pausing at small chapels or shaded clearings. On the east side of the peninsula, the Cathedral of Saint Domnius occupies the former mausoleum of Diocletian. Inside, altars erected during the seventh century house the relics of Saints Anastasia and Domnius, the latter now remembered as the city’s patron. The cathedral’s towering Romanesque belfry, completed around 1150, offers one of the most celebrated vantage points in Dalmatia.

Split preserves a remarkable concentration of museums and galleries. The Archaeological Museum, founded in 1820, claims the distinction of being Croatia’s oldest such institution. Its collections range from Illyrian artifacts and Greco‑Hellenistic ceramics to Roman glassware and medieval numismatics. Nearby, the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments displays early medieval wickerworks, clay figurines, and Latin epigraphic stones—some dating to the ninth century—forming the largest assemblage of its kind in Europe.

The city museum, housed in the former Papalić Palace, charts the urban, cultural, and economic evolution from antiquity to the present. The Ethnographic Museum explores Dalmatian folk traditions, from eighteenth‑century costumes to contemporary craft revivals. Maritime heritage finds a home at the Croatian Maritime Museum within the Gripe fortress, where naval weapons, ship models, and navigational instruments trace centuries of seafaring achievement. On Marjan itself, the Science Museum and Zoo offers natural history exhibits and animal enclosures, while the Ivan Meštrović Gallery, set in the sculptor’s own architectural design, showcases his drawings, furniture designs, and monumental statues.

Art continues to thrive at the Gallery of Fine Arts, installed since 2009 in the former hospital behind the palace. Its holdings traverse six centuries, presenting works by Vlaho Bukovac, Ivan Meštrović, and other luminaries. Rotating exhibitions of contemporary Croatian artists supplement the permanent display. A short stroll away, one may find wooden panels carved by Meštrović in the chapel at Kaštelet‑Crikvine—a testament to his devotion to Split and Dalmatia.

Split’s cultural identity extends beyond museums. Its literary roots reach to Marko Marulić, the Renaissance humanist whose epic poems and moral treatises influenced early European literature. In the twentieth century, writers such as Miljenko Smoje chronicled the city’s transformation in the television series Malo misto and Velo misto, blending affectionate humor with social observation. The actor Boris Dvornik, another native son, became one of Croatia’s most beloved screen figures.

When daylight fades, Split reveals a livelier side. Music venues and bars spill into narrow lanes, and in summer months the air carries the rhythms of klapa singing and pop‑dance beats. In 2013, Split became the first Croatian city to host Ultra Europe, drawing some 150,000 festival‑goers each July to Poljud Stadium until its move to Park mladeži in 2019. Over a decade, Ultra Europe in Split has welcomed 1.3 million visitors from over forty countries. In 2023, the city opened its first LGBTQ+ club, further diversifying its nocturnal offerings. Visitors may choose between open‑air beach bars and subterranean dance floors, often concluding the night by the softly lit waterfront.

Tourism now forms the cornerstone of Split’s economy. In 2023 the city recorded 965,405 arrivals and 3,050,389 overnight stays, a new high mark reflecting its allure as a cultural centre and cruising hub. Each year, close to a million visitors pass through on ferries to Brač, Šolta, Čiovo, Hvar and Vis, while seasonal lines connect to Ancona and other Italian ports. The Port of Split handles some four million passengers annually, ranking as the Mediterranean’s third‑busiest passenger terminal. Cruise ships call over 260 times a year, depositing more than 130,000 travellers in the city’s care.

Split’s land infrastructure has evolved alongside its maritime links. The A1 motorway conveys cars northward toward Zagreb, and the Adriatic Highway stretches the entire Dalmatian coast. There is no tram system—hilly terrain renders it impractical—but local buses serve both the peninsula and suburban neighbourhoods. Split Airport in Kaštela, about twenty kilometres to the northwest, recorded 3.62 million passengers in 2024, placing it second in Croatia for air traffic. On the peninsula’s southern edge, the main railway station marks the terminus of lines to Zagreb, Osijek, Budapest, Vienna and Bratislava, as well as suburban trains to Kaštel Stari. A smaller stop at Kopilica accommodates the Split Predgrađe commuter service.

More than two millennia after its Greek origins, Split remains a place where layers of history converge in everyday life. The donkey and the Dalmatian dog—once indispensable companions in mountain villages—appear alongside football emblems, a tribute to local devotion for HNK Hajduk and its supporters’ group Torcida, Europe’s oldest organized fan club. Through storms of change, earthquakes and wars, this city has retained an orientation toward the sea and a resilience born of its peninsular perch. For those who pause by the ancient stones of the palace or gaze inland at Marjan’s forests, Split offers a reminder that continuity often thrives in places of refuge and reinvention.